Roller leveler with quick lift upper roll unit

ABSTRACT

A roller leveler housing has end frames at the opposite ends of a bed and vertically movable top beam. Between the bed and beam is a vertically spaced pair of roll units, the upper one of which is suspended from the beam. At the ends of the housing there are vertical screws, the lower ends of which are connected to the upper part of the end frames for limited vertical movement. Nuts mounted on the screws are rotatably connected to the top beam, and means are provided for turning the nuts to adjust the beam up and down the screws. Connecting the top beam to the bed of the housing are fluid pressure operated means that normally hold the screws in their lower position, but can be reversed to quickly lift the top beam until the screws reach their upper position.

United States Patent Thompson et al.

[ Feb. 1,1972

[72] lnventors: Elbert Gordon Thompson, State College;

Max F. Alters, Pleasant Gap, both of Pa.

[73] Assignee: Sutton Engineering Company, Pittsburgh,

221 Filed: Jan. 29, 1970 21] Appl. No.: 6,749

2,616,185 11/1952 White ..33/182X Primary Examiner-William D. Martin, Jr. Attorney-Brown, Murray, Flick & Peckham [57] I ABSTRACT A roller leveler housing has end frames at the opposite ends of a bed and vertically movable top beam. Between the bed and beam is a vertically spaced pair of roll units, the upper one of which is suspended from the beam. At the ends of the housing there are vertical screws, the lower ends of which are connected to the upper part of the end frames for limited vertical movement. Nuts mounted on the screws are rotatably connected to the top beam, and means are provided for turning the nuts to adjust the beam up and down the screws. Connecting the top beam to the bed of the-housing are fluid pressure operated means that normally hold the screws in their lower position, but can be reversed to quickly lift the top beam until the screws reach their upper position.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures SCREWDOWN PAT ENTEU FEB] 1972 sum-Mr 1 FIG. I.

N o m m OM E TOT N NH 0, R ETA I610 V m X RA JV EM 8 L IIII [I E Y M B SCREWDOWN PATENTEU FEBI I972 sum 3 BF 4 mdl ' lNVENTORs ELBERT G. THOMPSON ROLLER LEVELER WITH QUICK LIFT UPPER ROLL UNIT Heat-treating and paint lines for metal strip operate continuously over long periods of time without stopping and therefore require lap seams or stitched seams to be made between successive strips. In order for such seams to pass through a roller leveler arranged in the processing line without damaging the work rolls and their associated members, it is necessary to separate the work rolls. If the relatively slowly operating screwdown-adjusting means are used, as has been the case heretofore, too much unleveled material is allowed to pass through the leveler between the time the upper and lower roll units start to separate and the time they are retuned to leveling position. If the screwdown-adjusting means are spaced up, it becomes difficult when closing the roll units to stop at the required position, so readjustment is necessary. This requires skilled attention and in the meantime too much imperfectly leveled material passes through the leveler. Also, there are times when so much pressure may be exerted by the strip against the rolls as to cause damage to the leveler.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a roller leveler, in which the upper roll unit can be quickly raised and returned to operating position without changing the screwdown position, and in which the rolls are automatically protected against overload.

I The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. I is a front view of our roller leveler;

FIG. 2 is a view of the right-hand side;

FIG. 3 is a view of the left-hand side;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken approximately on the line IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a further enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on the line VV of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a hydraulic circuit diagram.

Referring to the drawings, the lower portion of a pair of front and rear end frames 1 and 2 of a roller leveler housing are connected by a long bed 3. Extending between the upper portions of the end frames and across their tops is a top beam 4 that can be adjusted up and down by screwdowns 5 at the upper comers of the housing. In the entry half of the housing, at the right-hand side as viewed from the front, there is a pair of vertically spaced roll units 6 and 7 that extend lengthwise of the housing in the space between its bed and the top beam. In the exit half of the housing there is another pair of vertically spaced roll units 8 and 9, although this second pair is not always required.

Referring to the first pair of roll units, the upper units 6 includes several work rolls II, the ends of which are journaled in bearing blocks 12 that are held in retaining blocks 13 by vertical screws 14, as shown in FIG. I. These rolls can be turned b the product pulled through the leveler, or they can be driven from their rear ends. The tops of the two retainers are provided with laterally projecting tongues 15 which are supported by gibs l6, bolted to cross members 17 that in turn are fastened to the top beam. As shown in FIG. 2 their ends engage thrust rollers 19 supported on vertical axes by brackets 20 bolted across the inner faces of the retainers.

A plurality of groups of backup rolls 22 rest on the intermediate rolls, unless the latter are omitted, in which case the backup rolls rest directly on the work rolls. Each group of backup rolls is mounted in a bearing support 23, the top of which has laterally projecting tongues124 (FIG. 4) projecting into grooves 25 in track bars 26 that extend lengthwise of the housing between crossmembers l7 and a're sccured to the bottom of the top beam, so the bearing lock retainers and the backup roll supports are-all hung from the top beam. The grooves 25 line up with the grooves formed by the front and rear gibs I6. The outer sides of the roll supports bear against vertical thrust plates 27 fastened to the side of the top beam and extending below it.

The front and rear bearing block retainers l3 and the backup roll supports 23 are tied together to form the unit 6 by means of an elongated member secured to them and extending lengthwise of the housing. Preferably,-this member is a carrying plate 30 that extends through a central slot 31 in the top of each retainer and aligned slots 32 in the tops of roll supports 23. The plate is bolted to the tops of the retainers and to the roll supports. The roll unit just described can be held in operating position in the housing in simple manner by bolts 35 (FIG. 1) extending up through the projecting ends of the carrying plate into crossmembers 17, or b clamping the gibs tightly against the tongues on the bearing block retainers, or by both. Whatever the fastening means used, when they are released the entire roll unit can be slid bodily lengthwise out of the housing through front end frames 1, due to the tongue and-groove connections between the roll unit and the housing, and onto a suitable support by which the unit can be carried away from the housing. By reversing the process, a roll unit can be quickly slid into the housing and quickly fastened in place.

The lower roll unit 7 is, in general, the same as the upper unit. The bearing blocks 39 for the work rolls 40, however, are pivoted on horizontal pins 41 anchored in tilt blocks 42 fastened in retainers 43, so that the bearings can tilt slightly if the work rolls are deflected vertically out of a straight line. The bottoms of the retainers have laterally projecting tongues 44 that project into grooves formed by gibs 45 bolted to base blocks 46 secured to the top of the bed of the housing. When a group of intermediate rolls 47 are used, their ends engage thrust rollers 48 supported on vertical axes by brackets 49 extending across the inner faces of the retainers and secured thereto.

Engaging the intermediate rolls are backup rolls 50 that are journaled in supports 51 like those in the upper roll unit. They engage vertical thrust plates 52 secured to the side of the housing bed and projecting above it. These lower roll supports are intended to be adjusted vertically to permit the work rolls to be deflected when necessary in order to properly process the strip or sheet passing through the leveler. For this purpose, each backup roll support is mounted on deflecting means or apparatus. Each deflector includes a rocker block 53 provided at the top with groves 54 extending lengthwise of the housing that receive laterally projecting tongues 55 on the bottom of the overlying roll support. In its lowest position, the rocker block may rest flat on the bed of the machine.

Each rocker block 53 is provided in its bottom with a concave recess 62 that extends transversely across it. Fitting in this recess is a concave wedge block 63 (FIG. 2) provided with a longitudinal wedge slot 64 (FIG. 4) that is open at the bottom. The upper wall of the slot is flat and inclined from end to end. A wedge 65 is disposed in the slot and bears against the inclined wall and the underlying housing bed. The outer end of the wedge block overlaps the side of the housing bed slightly, as shown in FIG. 4, and also engages a thrust plate 52 to prevent endwise movement of the block.

Threaded in each wedge is a screw 66, the outer end of which extends through the thrust plate as shown in FIG. 4 and is provided with a collar 67 rotatably mounted in a bearing 68 fastened to the thrust plate to prevent movement of the screw lengthwise. The screw can be turned when desired by an electric motor 69 geared to it and supported by a bracket 70 projecting from the thrust plate. When the wedge is driven inwardly by the screw, it will raise the wedge block and the rocker block above it in order to lift the backup roll support 51 and thereby flex the work rolls upwardly at that point in a well-known manner.

In order to complete roll unit 7, an elongated member ties retainers 43 and roll supports 51 together. Here again this member preferably is a carrying plate 72 that extends through downwardly opening slots 73 and 74 in the bottoms of the retainers and roll supports, respectively. The ends of the carrying plate are loosely bolted to the retainers. The plate is also loosely bolted to the roll supports.

Lower roll unit 7 can be held in operating position in the same way as upper unit 6, by bolts 78 extending down through the projecting ends of the plate into the front and rear base blocks 46, or gibs 45 can be tightened down on tongues 44 to clamp the unit in place, or both systems can be used. In any event, the unit can be released quickly and moved lengthwise out of the front of the housing onto a suitable support, by which it can be carried away.

The other pair of roll units 8 and 9 shown herein likewise have groove-and-tongue connections with the housing so that they too can be slid lengthwise of the housing when desired. No roll-deflecting means are used with either of these lastmentioned roll units.

The screwdown at each corner of the housing includes a worm gear 81 rotatably mounted in a housing 82 secured to the top of the top beam 4 above an end frame. This worm gear is a ring gear, the inside of which is provided with a screw thread that registers with the thread of a vertical screw 83 extending through the gear. The gear therefore is also a nut on the screw. The unthreaded lower end of the screw extends loosely down through an opening 84 (FIG. 5) in the beam, and is connected to the underlying end frame. One way of doing this is to provide the top of the end frame with a pair of integral upwardly extending lugs 86 that receives the lower end of the screw between them as shown in FIG. 5. The screw is provided with a heavy cross pin 87 that projects into aligned openings 88 in the lugs. The pin and lugs prevent the screw from turning on its axis when the nut on the screw is rotated. It is a feature of this invention, however, that the connection between the screw and the end frame is such that will permit limited vertical movement of the screw for a purpose about to be explained. The vertical movement is accomplished by making the lug openings 88 in the form of vertical slots, in which the pin can move up and down a short distance.

Gravity, of course, normally would cause the screw pins 87 to seat in the lower ends of lug slots 88, because the pins are suspended from the vertical movable top beam 4 but when the roller leveler is in operation the strip passing through it would tend to lift the upper rolls and thereby raise the top beam and the screws. To prevent this from happening, so that the required pressure can be exerted against the strip during leveling, the top beam is pulled downward continuously by fluid pressure operated means. Such means preferably take the form of a fluid pressure cylinder and piston at each comer of the housing. These connect the vertically movable top beam 4 and the bed of the housing. Most suitably, the cylinders 90 are at the bottom. Their lower ends are fastened by pins 91 to brackets 92 secured to the bed. The upper ends of the piston rods 93 are connected by pins 94 to bifurcated brackets 95 integral with the top beam. These brackets may extend straight from the beam or they may also extend laterally from the beam too as shown in FIG. 4. In the second case each bracket straddles the slotted frame lugs 86 and the lower portion of the screw as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. One side of each bracket may be provided with an opening 96, through which the adjacent pin 87 can be inserted in and removed from the screw. Fluid pressure above the pistons in the cylinders determines the pressure of the rolls against the strip. The spacing between the upper and lower rolls is determined by the position of the gear unit 81 on the screws 83. By turning the nuts, the top beam can be adjusted up and down the screws to adjust the roll spacing while they are held stationary in their lower position by the downward pull of piston rods 93. As shown in FIG 4, the nuts are turned by worms 97 mounted on parallel horizontal shafts 98, which are driven by chain-and-sprocket drives 99 from a gear motor 100 mounted on the center of the top beam.

One of the big advantages of the construction just described is that whenever it is desirable to open the roller leveler by raising the upper roll unit or units, such as when a scam in the strip is to pass through the leveler, the opening can be done very quickly by simply reversing the fluid pressure in cylinders 90. This will cause the pistons to quickly rise in the cylinders and lift the top beam and the upper roll units suspended from it until the screw pins 87 strike the upper ends of the lug slots 88. When the beam is lowered again by the istons, it will be stopped by the seatlng of the screw pins in t e lower ends of the lug slots. Since this is exactly the same position it was in before, the upper rolls also will occupy their former position and no adjustment of the screwdowns will be required. It takes only a moment to open the leveler and to close it again in this way, so very little unleveled material passes through the leveler.

Another advantage is that if there is an overload, a relief valve in the hydraulic circuit can open so that the upper rolls and the top beam can be forced upwardly by the strip before any damage to the leveler occurs. A suitable hydraulic circuit is shown in FIG. 6, where it will be seen that a pump I02 delivers hydraulic fluid from a tank 103 to two three-way valves I04 and 105. Valve 105 is in a pipe I06 connecting the tank with the lower ends of cylinders 90, while the other valve is in a pipe 107 connecting the tank with the upper ends of the cylinders. The normal position of the valves is such that valve 105 connects the lower ends of the cylinders directly to the tank, but the other valve connects the pump with the upper ends of the cylinders so that fluid pressure is exerted downwardly on the pistons. The relief valve [08, mentioned above, is in pipe 107 between valve 104 and the cylinders. The valves can be switched by any suitable means for reversing the pistons so that the top beam will be quickly lifted. They can be switched back just as quickly to cause the pistons to allow the top beam to descend again and then hold it in its lower position.

We claim:

I. A roller leveler comprising a housing having end frames at the opposite ends of a bed and vertically movable top beam that are spaced apart, a vertically spaced pair of roll units extending lengthwise between said bed and beam, means suspending the upper roll unit from the top beam, vertical screws at the ends of the housing, means connecting the lower ends of the screws to the upper part of said end frames for limited vertical movement relative thereto between upper and lower positions, nuts mounted on the screws, means rotatably connecting the nuts to the top beam, means for rotating the nuts to adjust the beam up and down the screws, fluid pressure operated means connecting the top beam to said bed and normally holding said screws in their lower position, and means for reversing said fluid pressure operated means to quickly lift the top beam until the screws each their upper position.

2. A roller leveler according to claim I, in which said connecting means for the screws are pin-and-slot connections.

3. A roller leveler according to claim 2, including brackets secured to said end frames straddling said pin-and-slot connections and projecting laterally therefrom, and means connecting the upper ends of said fluid pressure operated means in said brackets.

4. A roller leveler according to claim 1, in which said end frames are provided with vertically extending slots, and said 1 connecting means for the screws include horizontal pins carried by the screws and projecting into said slots.

5. A roller leveler according to claim 1, in which each of said frames is provided with a pair of laterally spaced lugs receiving the lower end of the adjacent screw between them, said pair of lugs having vertical slots therein, and said connect ing means for the screw including a pin projecting from the screw into said slots and movable vertically therein.

6. A roller leveler according to claim I, in which said fluid pressure operated means include a fluid pressure cylinder and piston at each corner of said housing, means for normally supplying fluid under pressure to the upper ends of the cylinders, and a relief valve set to open if upward pressure against the upper roll unit exceeds a predetermined amount, whereby the top beam can rise.

k k i 

1. A roller leveler comprising a housing having end frames at the opposite ends of a bed and vertically movable top beam that are spaced apart, a vertically spaced pair of roll units extending lengthwise between said bed and beam, means suspending the upper roll unit from the top beam, Vertical screws at the ends of the housing, means connecting the lower ends of the screws to the upper part of said end frames for limited vertical movement relative thereto between upper and lower positions, nuts mounted on the screws, means rotatably connecting the nuts to the top beam, means for rotating the nuts to adjust the beam up and down the screws, fluid pressure operated means connecting the top beam to said bed and normally holding said screws in their lower position, and means for reversing said fluid pressure operated means to quickly lift the top beam until the screws each their upper position.
 2. A roller leveler according to claim 1, in which said connecting means for the screws are pin-and-slot connections.
 3. A roller leveler according to claim 2, including brackets secured to said end frames straddling said pin-and-slot connections and projecting laterally therefrom, and means connecting the upper ends of said fluid pressure operated means in said brackets.
 4. A roller leveler according to claim 1, in which said end frames are provided with vertically extending slots, and said connecting means for the screws include horizontal pins carried by the screws and projecting into said slots.
 5. A roller leveler according to claim 1, in which each of said frames is provided with a pair of laterally spaced lugs receiving the lower end of the adjacent screw between them, said pair of lugs having vertical slots therein, and said connecting means for the screw including a pin projecting from the screw into said slots and movable vertically therein.
 6. A roller leveler according to claim 1, in which said fluid pressure operated means include a fluid pressure cylinder and piston at each corner of said housing, means for normally supplying fluid under pressure to the upper ends of the cylinders, and a relief valve set to open if upward pressure against the upper roll unit exceeds a predetermined amount, whereby the top beam can rise. 